Over the Hill and Still Travelling

Archive for November 12th, 2017

I just read this beautifully written post about reentry after a Camino. Whilst I haven’t had major depression, I have been so frustrated at having to work and not being able to just go walk. My reentry into the hurly-burly of ‘normal’ life was a shock to my system and I was lucky to be able to spend a few weeks in a quiet place, albeit working. My senses are assaulted every time I’m in a busy place. This article describes so much of how I feel. Mourning the ease of soulful living.

I have been back home for almost two months now. Two long, hard, melancholic months. Reentry has led me down a dark rabbit hole of depression. At first I thought my fatigue was due to jet lag, after all I had been in Italy for two months. Then I figured it was due to a strong pain in my hips that limited my physical activity, which meant I could not work; after no income for two months the lack of incoming funds was stressing me out. The physical pain inhibited me from taking long walks which was the healthy rhythm I had grown so accustomed to since last year’s pilgrimage. Walking was a large part of my mental health routine and without it I was swimming in unchartered waters. I was heartbroken from my situation. Depression saw the newly open cracks with somewhat jagged edges, and worked its way into…